The Silver Key
by mio
Summary: What happens to Will and Lyra after TAS. Please read and review, this is my first fic.


There is a reason for the title, but you'll have to wait 'til the next part (if I ever get round to writing it).  
Please tell me what you think, but ignore any spelling mistakes, ok? Obviously, the only thing I own is Iona. The rest is Philip Pullman's  
  
  
  
  
In a small clearing surrounded by birch trees a man and a young girl slept. It was early morning and the pale sun gave off no heat. They were covered by a blanket for warmth, the man's head resting on a grey rucksack. Although he only looked about thirty, his thick brown hair was streaked with grey and his face was drawn with tiredness. He stirred slightly and the girl opened her eyes. Blinking, she sat up, taking care not to disturb the man next to her. It was brown with a white stripe across its wings she had never seen before. She reached under the blanket and pulled out some bread. Breaking off a small piece for the bird, she ate the rest with the air of someone who knows just how valuable food is. She turned around and saw that the man was watching her with quiet amusement.  
"We don't have enough food to give it away, you know." He didn't look cross- if anything his expression was sad. When she answered the girl's voice was soft so as not to disturb the bird.  
"I know, Alanne. But it looked so hungry. And it was only a little piece"  
"It's ok Iona, I don't mind. All the same, we'd better find some more food today. And water, come to that. She was about to answer when a loud crack came from the woods. The man jumped up his face pale.  
"We've got to get out of here. This way." Iona started to pack the things into a bag but he shook his head and started to run. Iona was about to follow him when he fell to the ground, his face covered in blood.  
  
Worlds away, the boy called Will Parry woke up with a start. He was breathing hard and sweat was running down his face. Immediately a huge cat sprung onto his lap and rubbed her face against his chest. Will sighed and looked at his wristwatch: 3.00. Quietly he pulled a sweater over his pyjama top and padded downstairs to the kitchen, pausing only to check that his mother was still asleep.  
Will poured some cereal into a bowl and covered it with milk. He decided to eat it with the window open. It was cold, but he'd been cold before and the night air was fresh. He shivered slightly and sat down facing the window. Will and his daemon sat silently while he picked morosely at his food. When Will spoke his breath turned the air around them grey.  
"I can't help it Kirjava. I know I'll never forget her but I know I'll never see her again either." She sighed and jumped up beside him on the bench.  
"Don't try to forget her. Just try to think about something else too." Will sighed  
"It's not that easy. I just wish there were some way of knowing if she's ok. What if something's happened to her and I don't know it? I'm not going to know anything about her until I die."  
"Perhaps" she replied "but you never know. You have a "huge role left to play", remember? So maybe you will see her again" Will shook his head  
"We have to fulfil our destinies alone. I know that much. This pointless, we're going round in circles. Let's try and get some more sleep.  
He was about to turn the light out when he heard footsteps running down the road outside. Will knelt on his bed to look out of the open window. A girl about his age with long blond hair was running down the road. And running beside her was something that looked a bit like a pine martin.  
"Lyra?" he called incredulously. She heard him and turned her head. It wasn't her. Will cursed himself for being so stupid and was about to slam the window shut when he realised she was saying something  
"Please. Please can I come in? They're after me and I don't know what to do. They killed him!" Will hesitated, but only for a second. If that animal was a daemon after all then she cetainly wasn't from this world.  
"Wait in the garden" he called down " I'll be down in a moment."  
He ran quietly downstairs and opened the door. She was standing nervously on the top step, obviously wondering if this had been a good idea.  
Closer up he could understand why he'd mistaken her for Lyra. She had the same golden hair , the same slight figure. But there the resemblance ended. This girl had dark green eyes and extraordinarily high cheek bones. Her face was pinched with worry and she looked as though she had lost a lot of weight suddenly, because her clothes hung off her. She seemed younger than Lyra too, about 11 or 12. All this had taken place in a matter of seconds and before he knew it Will had led her inside and shut the door.  
"I'm Will," he said simply and because he could see she was still nervous he waited for her to calm down before asking  
"What's your name?"  
"Iona" Will look around for her daemon, but he couldn't see him. Had he imagined it after all? Or could he still change shape? One thing Will knew, this wasn't the time to ask her.  
"Come in to the kitchen. Would you like some food?  
He made her an omelette, all the time forcing himself not to think of the time he had made one for Lyra, forcing himself to concentrate on this strange girl who was sitting in his kitchen.  
She ate the omelette, gingerly at first because, like Lyra, she had never tasted one before. When she had finished and Will had offered her a drink he sat down opposite her and took a deep breath.  
"Suppose you tell me who you are."  
"My name is Iona Shipway. I-I got lost and I saw you at the window so I thought I'd ask for help. But I think I can remember where I am now. Thank you very much for the meal, but I'd better go now." She had changed her mind about asking for help. Will hesitated. She obviously wasn't going to trust him unless he gave her reason to. But he could hardly ask her" Are you from a different world?" He was about to unwillingly let her go when he noticed a small lump in her sleeve. Was it her daemon? Suddenly Will couldn't bear the thought of ignoring this one tiny chance of a connection to the other worlds.  
"Is that your daemon?" He asked. Her eyes opened wide with fear and she backed towards the door. Will held up his hands  
"Don't worry," He said. "Please, will you listen?" Reluctantly she sat down again and nodded.  
"I'm Will Parry" He said. " A while ago, I found something nobody else really knows about. A kind of door, a doorway into another world. This world was almost the same as mine, but there everybody has daemons. In fact, people in my world have them too, only you can't see them..."  
  
  
  



End file.
